Camping at State of California Parks & Recreation Department
Complete guide: ca.gov
Samuel P Taylor State Park
Samuel P. Taylor State Park
8889 Sir Francis Drake Blvd
Lagunitas, CA 94938
(415) 488-9897
Samuel P. Taylor State Park has wooded countryside in the steep rolling hills of Marin County north of San Francisco. The park features a unique contrast of coast redwoods groves and open grassland. The park features a variety of flowers and trees, including oak, tanoak, madrone, live oak, laurel and Douglas fir. California native wildflowers include buttercups, milkmaids, and Indian paintbrush. The most common animal in the park is the black-tailed deer. There are also raccoons, striped skunks and gray foxes. Silver salmon and steelhead trout migrate up Papermill Creek to spawn.
China Camp State Park
San Rafael, CA 94901
(415) 456-0766
The park has a natural watershed along the shores of San Francisco Bay. Features include an extensive intertidal salt marsh, meadow and oak habitats, that are home to a variety of wildlife, including deer, squirrels and numerous birds. A Chinese shrimp-fishing village thrived on this site in the 1880s. Nearly 500 people, originally from Canton, China, lived in the village. In its heyday, there were three general stores, a marine supply store and a barber shop. Fisherman by trade in their native country, they gravitated to the work they knew best. Over 90% of the shrimp they netted were dried and shipped to China or Chinese communities throughout the US.
ANGEL ISLAND STATE PARK
(415) 435-1915
This verdant island in the middle of San Francisco Bay has been a Civil War camp, an immigrant quarantine station, a World War II base, and a Nike missile site. Accessed by ferry, the island offers miles of hiking and biking trails, picnicking spots, and even campsites with unbeatable views. Angel Island can be reached by ferry from San Francisco, Tiburon, Vallejo, and Alameda. No dogs